Udaipur

We spent a lovely couple of days in Udaipur.  To get there we experienced our first sleeper bus. Pros - we had our own compartment which was kind of sound proof so we played some tunes and chilled out. Cons - no toilet! If you needto pee ask the driver to pull over and squat at the side of the road. Almost preferable to the one stop we did have at 1am so the driver could eat.  Those toilets smelt before I even got close.  

In Udaipur we dabbled in some art collecting as it is a town well known for its miniature paintings.  We also took a cooking class with a lovely lady called Meenu. We learnt to make pakora, chai tea, the base for two curries, and chapati and parantha breads.  Luckily we got to eat our creations - yum.  Meenu also offered us a city cultural tour which involved a lesson in clothing, religion, and social standings. She spoke to us in her house while we had chai tea, and then she took us around the city pointing out religious emblems on houses and telling us about the marital status of people based on what they are wearing.  The tour was very interesting and mid way through we stopped for a traditional Indian breakfast.  We also visited the cities palace. It seems every city we visit has a fortified palace. 

I am getting to the stage where I am over Indian food - curries nearly every day.  I am nearly ready to kill for cereal and yoghurt for breakfast, and a good chicken Caesar salad.  I am 100% ready to bring my coffee machine on tour - have not even risked ordering a coffee as they look pretty pants.  I miss my morning coffee.  

Currently we are in a 'small' town of 100,000 called Bundi.  The town seems empty and when I compare it to a NZ town of a similar size there is so many more restaurants and people around in small town NZ. Later in our trip we will be staying in a town of 20,000 so pretty much it will just be Nath and I walking the streets - no one else will be around.  

Tomorrow we take a bus to Jaipur.  Good times.